A pretty significant chunk of our work in the PR industry is about solving problems. Perhaps the problem is huge: Your Fortune 500 client is facing a major PR headache and it’s your job to fix it. Or perhaps the problem is comparatively small: One of your team members is struggling to nail a pitch.
Either way, staying focused on solutions is a key part of being a successful PR practitioner. It’s a skill that employers look for in candidates, and being known as a solutions-oriented worker makes you a desired teammate and a strong contributor to your firm and to your clients.
But sometimes, when even the smallest problems start to stack up, it can be easy to slip into bad habits, give into the negativity that inevitably arises from time to time at any job, and to stop focusing on solutions. To avoid that, and to stay focused on the solutions, remember these tips:
- Ask the right questions. When you set out to find a solution to a problem, it’s important to be armed with the information you need. Your teammates, your boss and your clients probably have a lot of that information. Before you leave a meeting or hang up a phone, get the answers that you think you’ll need. To do that, and to be seen as a problem-solver, you need to ask the right questions. Don’t ask: “Is there anything else that I need to know before I start this project?” Be more specific. Identify what you see as problem areas or missing gaps in information that you can clear up immediately:
– “Who are our key audiences for this article?”
– “What are the business objectives we want to achieve with this proposal?”
- Don’t be afraid of “I don’t know.” Scientists quip that the phrase “I don’t know” is the driver behind discovery and experimentation. It’s inevitable that you will be faced with problems that you don’t know how to solve, or aren’t prepared to address, at various points in your career. This is especially true for young employees without years of experience under their belts. That’s when “I don’t know” comes in handy. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but remember: There’s a difference between “I don’t know” and “I have no idea what I’m doing.” Make sure that your coworkers know that even if you aren’t sure how to solve a problem, you are bringing ideas to the table and are interested in finding the best solution. To do that, remember…
- … never present a problem without proposing a solution. This is particularly true when you are working with your manager or with a client. Even if you aren’t completely confident, you should always be prepared to propose a solution to a problem. Next time a client emails you with a problem, take five minutes to devise a solution before you take it to your boss’s desk. This shows that you’re focused on the big picture, that you are proactive, and that you are always looking around the corner to see what’s next.
- Stay confident in your skills. I’ll delve into a football metaphor here: When coaches start planning for a big game, facing a superior opponent, too many start to overthink their game plan. A coach with a talented stable of running backs might turn instead to the passing game to trick their opponent, trying to “pull out all the stops” to win the most unlikely of games, rather than focusing on their strengths and trusting their practice. The professional world isn’t that different. When searching for a solution, don’t lose sight of your strengths and the hard work that’s gotten you to where you are now. Trust in your ability and your team’s ability to find a solution to even the biggest problems.
To take a step further, I thought it would be interesting to ask a few of my connections in the PR world for their tips on staying solutions-oriented. Here’s what they had to say:
- “Take a step back. Oftentimes, teams get so caught up in the minutia of projects that they forget to look at the bigger picture, the root of the problem.”
– Communications manager at a national nonprofit
- “Take time to think about the long-term; it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day without planning your long-term strategy. Read what others are doing, not so you can copy their ideas but so that you can learn from them, build from there, and combine those ideas into your own approach.”
– Account manager at a Brooklyn-based digital agency
- “Build solutions around contingencies. Rarely in PR do things go the way we would expect. So it’s important to not be rigid in mapping out solutions, but to create flexible solutions that don’t crumble should one factor of your strategy or challenge change.”
– Director of digital strategy at a global communications agency
- “I put myself in other people’s shoes and consider what kind of questions and needs they are going to have that I should be able to answer or provide.”
– Public affairs specialist at a national fashion specialty retailer
- “It all comes down to communication. How well are you able to communicate with the client their needs and your capacity to fulfill them? If you can communicate well—and here I mean the ability to have a frank and open discourse—the details will help guide you.”
– Digital marketing manager, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington, D.C.
What are your tips for staying focused on solutions at work, even when problems are mounting up? Share them with us in the comments!